Leaf grinder



LEAF GRINDER Filed Sept. 3, 1949 -Q O a A [1 n i .1 Ell Q I :9, 1 x w 1 1 *0? Q B W r0 INVENTORS JOHN M. WILLIHMS T HS L. MFIY BY HOM I ATTORN Y Patented Aug. 4, 1953 LEAF GRINDER John M. Williams, Madison, N. J., and Thomas L. May, Long Island City, N. Y. said May assignor to said Williams Application September 3, 1949, Serial No. 113,914

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable apparatus which can be easily moved over a lawn or similar surface for conveniently placing leaves and the like therein to reduce the same to a relatively fine flake-like mass suitable for use as a fertilizer. More particularly, the invention deals with an apparatus of the character described having a vertically disposed feed screw with a hopper enveloping a portion of the screw to facilitate the feed of leaves thereto, part of the screw having tooth-like structures to insure feed of the leaves into the cylinder in which the screw operates. Further, the invention deals with an apparatus, wherein a cutter mechanism is employed comprising a large apertured disc with a cutter movable over the outer surface of the disc to flake the fed leaves pushed through the apertured disc by said screw.

Still more particularly, the invention deals with an apparatus having means for automatically feeding the leaves to the screw cylinder.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the apparatus with part of the construction shown in a different position in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus; and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l.

In practice, we provide a frame In comprising a substantially triangular base I I supported by suitable rollers l2 at corner portions thereof for free movement over a supporting surface. The upper end portion I3 of the frame has an electric motor i4 supported thereon with the shaft of the motor in a vertical position. On the motor shaft is arranged a pair of pulleys l5, around which pass two belts IS, the belts passing around other pulleys I"! on a stub shaft l8 supported in the upper end of the frame.

At the forward portion of the frame 13 is a vertical cylinder IS, in which is rotatably mounted a feed screw 20. The shaft of the screw protrudes through the upper end of the cylin der and has thereon a gear 2| which meshes with a pinion 22 on the shaft I8. The cylinder has a large elliptical opening 23 opening into what may be termed the front wall of the cylinder at a point intermediate upper and lower ends thereof. The lower end of the cylinder I9 is recessed, as seen at 24, for reception of a disc 25, the disc being keyed to the cylinder as seen at 26. The disc 25has three or more large areshaped apertures 21 therein, through which the leaves gathered by the screw 20 are fed by said screw to be severed by a multiple blade cutter 28 supported upon the lower reduced end 29 of the screw 22. The cutter 28 is held in position by a winged nut 30 in threaded engagement with the lower end of the shaft part 29. Adjacent the part 29 is a slightly enlarged shaft portion 3|, against which the cutter 28 seats and this portion 3| is so positioned as to dispose the cutter blade edges 32 in close proximity to the lower surface of the disc 25. The disc 25 has a central bearing portion 33, in which the portion 3| operates. It will appear that the large diameter of the apertures 21 is in alinement with the bore I9 of the cylinder l9, so as to provide a free discharge of the leaves through said disc.

In threaded engagement with the lower end of the cylinder I9 is a retaining ring 34 which overlies the disc 25 to hold the latter in place. The ring 34 has a large finger-grip portion 35 to facilitate attachment and removal of the ring.

The frame It] has side plate portions or wings 36 extending outwardly from the cylinder [9 and attached to these portions and the cylinder 19 is an upwardly and outwardly extending hopper 37. This hopper may be composed of rigid or flexible material, such as heavy canvas and, when the latter is used, the upper edge is supported by a heavy ring 38'. The hopper 31 extends onto the cylinder [9 at a point below the opening 23 and this forms around the cylinder a pocket 39; the upper surface of this pocket is covered by a removable screen 40, preferably of a reasonably large mesh, such for example, as a to T g" mesh. The purpose of this construction is to collect gravel, sand or the like that might be dumped into the hopper with the leaves.

At the upper end of the screw 20 is an extending shaft 4| supported in a suitable bracket portion 42 at the upper end of the cylinder. Mounted on the shaft, beneath the bracket 42, is a cam 43; pivotally supported at the upper end of the bracket, as seen at 44, is a lever 45 supporting at its lower free end portion an arc-shaped weight 46 of a contour to fit freely but snugly within the central portion of the hopper. The lever 45 is adapted to be dropped onto a batch of leaves placed in the hopper to urge the leaves in the direction of the opening 23 and the cam 43 is adapted to impart a reciprocating pounding action upon the leaves, at least when the lever is in a position, substantially similar to that illustrated in the drawing, so as to urge the small body of leaves that may be at the lower portion of the hopper into the cylinder through the opening 23. The lever 15 is adapted to be swung into a raised position and held in this position by a stop 41, the lever being in this position when leaves are inserted into the hopper 3'5. The hopper will be sufiiciently large to takeasubstantial volume of leaves and, while these leaves are being picked up and fed by the screw 28 through the disc 25 and severed, the operator can be col-. lecting another batch of leaves for insertion into the hopper. Supported upon the lower plate H of the apparatus beneath the lower discharge of the cylinder I8 is a suitable box ,or receptacle 43 having a handle, as at 49, and this box, when filled or substantially filled with, the ground or processed leaves reduced to flakes can be emptied and replaced for another filling.

Disposal of leaves has always been a lem and, in most instances, leaves have. been gathered in piles and burned, which process has been extremely wasteful and, at the/same time, dangerous and has ,caused many fires throughout the country. By .a simple and economical apparatus of the type and kind underconsideration, the apparatus can be moved about over ,a lawn or other surface and the leaves reduced to a ground flake-like at times, more or less powder mass which represents a very fine and suitable fertilizer for spreading over a lawn, held or in a garden. ,On the other hand, the flaked er cs an be g t ere a m os r e 10w -t rot or; i su h-Pi hem co yo th rw et eate t prod e an exc pt n l fine rerti r- B usin an a paratu of t t p and kind, the; need for purchasing fertilizers is -sp,ensedwvith, thus the apparatus will automatically pay for self in a relatively short period ,of'time byvirtue of the savingeflected in tie-p rc as f rtili rs- Theperipheral edges of the screw 2e, particula v' h re ey sis r i h th co ai e 2% have circurnierentially spaced tooth-like projections 2,6 g 1 will aid in picking-up and-feeding the leaves ;1- to the cylinder 19. It will also be t pes and k n of d sc und rstoodl a fllfi r m 251 m h th c ntro f the 1- of th flakes or grains discharged from the apparatus.

Insome i staree it-ma be desirable t pe a e .on the b of ,a double operation, that is to say, a iCL- "-ng; wherethe flakes would berelatively large, then removing the ,disc employed for the heavy out and substitute a disc having smaller perf rati the ei a n -Income he flakes through the apparatus to reduce the flakes to ,a finer grain,

Havi full de cr be 1- n r at w claim as new and desire to secure by. Letters Patent is:

1. A leaf grinding apparatus of the character described. comprisin a v r ical frame hav'nga triangular base, a cylinder arran ed. ally and extending. the majo o t on o the length of said frame, the lower end of the c nder being arranged above and spaced frornsaid base, ,a feed screw, mounted the lower portion :of. said ylinder .a-ndhav naa s a t ext nd n at the top of saidcylinder, said cylinder haying ,ope i-ng interm diatea d wide sna ed rom ts n s for delive of. rro u tstothe linder 9 ed b sa d s re a m or on e pn rw o t' n ofhe name, means corner-isms a a l, etw, en the shaft of thesmotorandsaidifisilew sinister actuating said screw, said -,cv1ind r beige at great probits lower end, an apertured disc fixed to the open end of the cylinder, a cutter mounted on the feed screw outwardly of and moving over the surface of said disc to cut products fed by said screw through the apertures of said disc, and a hopper materially larger in diameter than the diameter of said cylinder and encircling more than onehalf of the,diameter of'fthe cylinder for supporting a relatively large body of products around and beyond the upper and lower limits of the cylinder opening for delivery to the opening of said cylinder.

2. A leaf grinding apparatus of the character described, comprising a vertical frame having a triangular base, a cylinder arranged vertically in and extending the major portion of the length of said frame, the lower end of the cylinder being arranged above and spaced from said base, a feed screw mounted in the lower portion of said cylinder and having a shaft extending at the top of said cylinder, said cylinder having an opening intermediate and widely spaced from its ends for delivery of products to the cylinder for feed by said screw, a motor on the upper portion of the frame, means comprising a gear train between the shaft of the motor and said screw shaft for actuating said screw, said cylinder being open at its lower end, an apertured disc fixed .to the open end of the cylinder, a cutter mounted on the feed screw outwardly of and moving over the surface of said disc to cut products fed by said screw through the apertures of said disc, a hopper materially larger in diameter than the diameter of said cylinder and encircling more than one-half of the diameter of the cylinder for supporting a relatively large body of products around and beyond the upper and lower limits of the cylinder opening for delivery to the opening of said cylinder, means for urging the products in the hopper in the direction of the opening of said-cylinder, said last named means comprising a pivoted lever having an end extending into said hopper, and an arc-shaped weight fixed to said end of the lever, and means comprising a cam on said shaft for intermittently actuating said lever'to move the arc-shaped weight toward and from said p nin 3. A leaf grinding apparatus of the character described, comprising a frame, a cylinder in the frame having a lower open discharge end, said cylinder intermediate and widely spaced from its ends having .an opening for feed of materialinto the cylinder, a hopper materially larger in diameter than the diameter of said cylinder and encircli g more than one-half of the diameter of said cylinder for supporting a relatively large bod of uc s ar u d and e ond th upp and lower limits of the cylinder openin a pivoted le e having n n p ra n aid h p e a ar -shap d w s edm mbe f d o s id end o the l a/e v a dm v l in he h pe to urge material in the direction of the cylinder opening, means in thecylinderfor picking up and feeding material urged into the cylinder opening longitudinally of the cylinder to said discharge end, and meansat the discharge end of the cylinder for cutting the material in the feed through said end.

.4. A leaf grinding apparatus of the character described, comprising a frame, a cylinder in the framehaving a lower open discharge end, said cylinder intermediate and spaced fromits ends havin an openin fo fee of material into the cylinder, a hopper materially larger in diameter than the diameter of said cylinder for supporting a relatively large body of products around and beyond the upper and lower limits of the cylinder opening, an arc-shaped weighted member movable in the hopper to urge material in the direction of the cylinder opening, means in the cylinder for picking up and feeding material urged into the cylinder opening longitudinally of the cylinder to said discharge end, means at the discharge end of the cylinder for cutting the material in the feed through said end, means at the upper end of the cylinder for driving said feed means, said driving means operatively engaging said member to automatically move the same toward and from the cylinder opening, and the lower end portion of the hopper, at a point below the cylinder opening, having means for collecting foreign particles delivered to the hopper.

JOHN M. WILLIAMS. THOMAS L. MAY.

6 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number 

